By the time Keith Gordon's odd, extremely stylized remake of "The Singing Detective" gets around to its point, the audience is liable to be angry at it for dragging its feet so long, and for being so weird in the process. At least, that was my reaction, when I could muster any reaction beyond simple boredom.

"The Singing Detective," based on a beloved 1986 miniseries, is about an author named Dan Dark (Robert Downey Jr.) who suffers from a debilitating skin disease that has rendered him even more hateful and misogynistic than he used to be. His books are about a singing detective who, in a surprising move, is Dark's alter ego! And his fiction reflects his own feelings!

Downey's performance is rather good, moving between rage and sadness without warning, and the makeup work on him is pretty impressive. Mel Gibson is interesting as a peculiar psychiatrist who examines Dark. So no, the performances are not the problem here.

It's the style that does the film in. Dark hallucinates several musical numbers, generally of 1950s prototypical rock 'n' roll songs (already problematic, since the genre of the film is more detective noir, which is '40s). These are not staged with any particular imagination or wit, nor do they have anything to do with the story or characters at hand. They seem almost 100 percent random, and they appear at random times.

Furthermore, the film is all about Dan Dark sorting through issues that we figure out long before he does. It is a slow-moving, uneventful detective story, mixed with the only slightly more compelling story of Dan Dark and his gross skin.

OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2003 Sundance Film Festival. For more in the 2003 Sundance Film Festival series, click here.
OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2003 Starz Denver Film Festival. For more in the 2003 Starz Denver Film Festival series, click here.
OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2003 Chicago Film Festival. For more in the 2003 Chicago Film Festival series, click here.

User Comments

1/27/11

millersxing

Freddy Krueger's back and he's got a new nightmare!

8/03/06

Agent Sands

Good cast, nice soundtrack. 'S about it. Not very tightly done.

5/07/04

tatum

Really treats the audience like drones, "you won't get this, so just shut up"

5/02/04

carlos eduardo muñoz

buena

4/13/04

paul

too good to put in words

12/17/03

maria gonzalez

I love it. Robert Downey is a great actor

12/06/03

Lyric

Robert Downey Jr is the MAN!!!!!!

11/29/03

jmsynth

Only 12 people in cinema. When I left after 30 mins, 3 remained. Worst Film Ever!

11/25/03

costars

Fun, Funny, Beautiful, Imaginative & Fascinating

11/22/03

john

splendid, captivating, Downey and Penn lovely etc.

11/17/03

he

a great film

11/14/03

Karol

Sucks is too good a word for this crap!!

11/10/03

Cameron Slick

You have to see it to believe it, and even that isn’t a guarantee.

11/08/03

T Leonard White

Extraordinary performance by Downey

10/27/03

Stephanie

The absolute WORST movie I have ever seen in my entire life.

10/12/03

Patty K

Challenging, weird, and great. Downey is amazing.

10/09/03

fay ubertin

loved this movie dementia without reserve. Robert Downey Jr. is a comic genius

9/09/03

Tory

Great acting

6/23/03

Smiley

Hit or Miss. It was a hit with me. Manifold sub plots and themes to challenge the viewer.

6/19/03

Kino

My favorite film from Sundance 2003

6/06/03

Ed

Funny, odd, moving, terrific

5/21/03

jason smyth

Awesome. thankfully not the usual hollywood crap

2/19/03

Cray Z

A Fever Dream!

2/11/03

SusanS

Fascinating and original. Slow spots.

2/03/03

ahmad

goooog

1/24/03

Buddha

The hell he is. What laborious crap.

1/24/03

Gino Lambretta

No, no, no, this reviewer is incorrect

IF YOU'VE SEEN THIS FILM, RATE IT!Note: Duplicate, 'planted,' or other obviously improper commentswill be deleted at our discretion. So don't bother posting 'em. Thanks!